"You Must Be Sniffin' Glue!!!"

Cactus Cowboy

Well-Known Member
That's a song by 'The Twistin' Tarantulas'---yes, there's actually a band by that name, and the song is pretty funny too. Had a visitor today, met him in my yard... at first I thought he was in trouble, all hunkered down on the walkway which leads to my utility shed, but it turned out he was DRINKING by letting the raindrops roll down his head, lol. Hey, high desert spiders get thirsty too!!! Here's my hairy little friend, shots taken as the rain temporarily stopped and he began to stroll... no arachnophobia here, tarantulas are free to roam where they will in my yard. The cats occasionally take swipes at tarantulas, but they usually back off once the spiders rear up in defensive mode, lol. In the interest of science, I tossed a 2007 quarter down on the walkway for scale... not the largest tarantula I've ever seen in my yard, but a fair representative of the species.

IMG_3352.JPG IMG_3351.JPG IMG_3354.JPG
 
Had a couple shots left over from yesterday... already posted these elsewhere, but check out the difference when Mr. Tarantula is on the pavement and in the grass! Pretty good camo, yeah? When he's on the walkway, he stands out like a meth-head in a criminal lineup, but in the grass he's in full-on 'stealth mode!' Bonus shot of kittehs thrown in for good measure... :cool:

IMG_3364.JPG IMG_3365.JPG IMG_3391.JPG
 
Ya know, perhaps we're overlooking the tactical advantage this tarantula offers to racing skippers... get the thing ripped on 'roids, teach it to simultaneously tend multiple lines, show it how to achieve optimal sail trim, give it instruction on working the foredeck, etc., etc. Instead of having several crew members, a skipper could just have... the tarantula! A big bad racing tarantula, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Damn... a skipper could actually just kick back and drink beer, throw out tactical advice, and occasionally grab the wheel (or tiller) when the tarantula went forward to knock out some nautical task. Easy as pie... enjoy the view (and the brew) as you let the 8-legged 'secret weapon' do all the hard work!!! CHEERS!!! ;)
 

Back
Top